86’d at home: Lake Erie falls to Walsh, 86-70

Lake Erie (6-10, 1-9 GLIAC) scuffled in the second half in dropping its fourth straight game. A Walsh (6-10, 2-8) squad that had lost six straight games coming in nailed a dozen 3-pointers in the contest. From the 3:40-mark in the first half to the midpoint of the second, the Cavaliers outscored Lake Erie by 17 points (39-22).

Walsh shot 49 percent (28-of-57) for the game, as the Cavaliers earned their first league win in over a month. Senior forward Maggie Berry scored a game-high 22 points for Walsh.

LEC went just 3-for-12 from the field in falling behind, 20-11, over the first nine minutes in the opening half. Walsh shot 50 percent from the floor for the better part of the half, but the Storm gradually chipped away at the Cavaliers advantage. A Chrissy Delaney bucket at the 3:40-mark brought LEC within three points (29-26), but Walsh then rebuilt its advantage with a 5-0 run.

The visitors would shoot 50 percent (13-of-26) in the first half and go into halftime with a 39-30 lead. Sarah Stephenson scored 13 first-half points for the Cavaliers. Jackie Murray matched that number for the Storm. Murray collected 12 of those points on four 3-pointers.

The hot-shooting Cavaliers team went 6-of-their-first-11 in the second half, opening up a 13-point by the 13-minute mark. Multiple Storm misses from the paint fueled a Walsh lead that would have the Cavaliers up 20 by the 10-minute mark.

The Green & White worked their way back to a 12-point (72-60) deficit by the five-minute mark, but they would get no closer the rest of the way.

Lake Erie finished the game 23-of-62 (37 percent) from the floor. The Storm were out-rebounded, 45-34.

Chrissy Delaney's 16 points mark a career best for the senior from Delaware, Ohio. Murray's 19 mark her most since Nov. 9. Murray also had four assists in the game. Brianna Shogovac also found double digits in the scoring column; she added 10 points.

Saturday's contest closed out a stretch of four straight home games for Lake Erie. The Storm will be on the road for a pair of GLIAC South Division contests next week. The first of those will be a Thursday game (6 p.m. start time) at Hillsdale (Mich.).

Notes: In a series that dates back to 1979, Walsh now leads, 15 games to four. Saturday's game marked the first of two this season between LEC and WU. The two GLIAC South foes are scheduled to meet in North Canton, Ohio, on Feb. 8. … Dating back to last season, LEC has now hosted nine straight GLIAC games without posting a victory. The Storm's last home conference win came against Tiffin on Feb. 21, 2013.